a blog about life on Skopelos

The little summer of Saint Demetrios

As temperatures continue to tip into the early twenties around seven in the morning and Skopelos basks in sunshine under clear blue skies, we appear to be back in the ‘little summer of Saint Demetrios’, the Greek equivalent of an Indian Summer. Like the ‘halcyon days’ of January (we reported last year’s), this is a climatic anomaly, although one that has long been associated with the saint and his name day.

Saint Demetrios was a fourth century ‘soldier saint’ martyred in his birthplace, Thessaloniki, where he is credited with several miracles that saved the city from invasion. Depending on the calendar and branch of Orthodox Christianity people follow, his saint’s day is variously celebrated on different dates in late October and early November; here in Greece his name day is October 26.

This year’s little summer – if memory serves, last year’s little summer was an extended and very rainy wash-out – is made rather surreal by the absence of many people, islanders and settlers, who might have otherwise been here, some decamping early after the big storm of September 22. Most surreal, perhaps, is that following the sudden closure of Gialos on Wednesday, when they expended remaining supplies, there are now no restaurants open along the paralia. This is a first for many years. Molos may realize its plan to re-open on November 19, but apart from a few kafenia – Platanos and Kochilis bakery mornings, Avgo, Ghikas, Karavia, Skopelos Café all day – the only restaurants open in town now are the busy and popular Ampeliki above the town beach, Gorgones and, sporadically, Finikas. All three say they are open for lunch and dinner; check our report earlier this week for contact details to confirm.

Longish-term forecasts are never to be trusted, but most weather websites are predicting this little summer will last until the end of next week, so if you are here, and while there are still people swimming at Stafilos and Panormos, make the most of it while you can.